Importing data

It is possible to import new data to Scoro as well as update the existing data via import. You can do that in the Import/Export module.

You can start using Scoro without importing any historical data. Starting from scratch is by far the easiest option. Normally, companies tend to keep the historical invoices, bills, and other financial documents only in their preferred accounting software and not import those to Scoro.

Contacts and products (services) are the most common items to be imported. This way, it's easy to start working with the existing client base and issue sales documents (quotes and invoices). Of course, if you provide only a few services (products) or have a handful of contacts, you can enter the data to Scoro manually.

If the historical data is needed in Scoro (for reporting purposes, for example), in addition to companies, people, and products, it is also possible to import projects, quotes, invoices, receipts, bills, purchase orders, expenses, and tasks.

Note! If you don't see the Import/Export module anywhere, go to My Settings > Menu and drag-drop the Import/Export to the menu.

Importing data files

Data in the import file must follow the basic table structure – each row in a table represents a set of related data, and every row follows the same structure (defined by columns). For example, in a company import file, each row represents a single company. Columns include data like company name, company street address, etc.
.CSV, .XLS and .XLSX files can be imported, yet .CSV is the recommended format. 

The import is done in three stages:

1. Fill in the import file with the relevant data following the structure of the example file.
2. Upload the file, then match the fields – 'name' should be 'name', not an 'address', etc. If you did everything according to the example file, this step should be irrelevant.
3. Import the file and verify the result. You can always delete the import from My imports and import the amended file again. 

Things to consider before the import 

1. Take a look at the example file and modify your import file accordingly. Or, you can add an item (for example, a contact) to Scoro, fill out the information on the contact card and save it, export it, and see what the file looks like. This helps to make sure you fill in the columns necessary for you and that you do not waste time on data columns that are irrelevant for your business. You can use the same export file to import your data to Scoro.
2. Invest your time in cleaning up the data before importing it (remove duplicates and outdated information, fix email addresses, and other details). Accurate data boosts overall productivity, but more importantly, helps to avoid errors and get more detailed reporting.
3. Import only the data you really need. We advise you to start with contacts and products, so you can start working with your existing contact base and issue sales documents. With the rest of the data, it may be easier to start from scratch. For example, keep all the historical invoices only in your accounting system and start creating the upcoming ones in Scoro.
4. Make sure you have added all the employees you want to link to contacts, projects, sales, and purchase documents to Scoro as users. If you want to import historical data and link it to a person who no longer works in your company, you should still create a user account for them in Scoro (you can mark the user as inactive so it would not reserve a user seat).
5. Before importing large data sets to Scoro, test the import with a couple of rows to ensure everything is imported as you expect.
6. One import should not be longer than 10 000 lines, this limit is to avoid any problems during the import. In case of bigger files, just split the files into smaller parts.
7. Delete all the unnecessary columns (the columns that are not filled with information) from the import file before the import. This helps to avoid the possibility of overwriting some data with blank values, in case some of the data already exists in Scoro.
8. Make sure there are no empty rows in the middle of the data file (the rows below the empty row will not be imported). 
   

We also recommend importing items in a specific order, so different items could be linked to each other (for example, companies should be imported first, so that all projects and sales documents could be linked with a relevant company in the system).

Note! Import feature doesn't include the option to link the imported data directly to an existing item in Scoro. For example, if you import new tasks into your Scoro site, they must be linked to a quote line directly from the quote. More on how to link with an existing task we have in this article.

The recommended order for importing data:

1. Companies
2. People
3. Products
4. Projects
5. Quotes
6. Sales invoices
7. Receipts
8. Purchase Orders
9. Bills (purchase invoices)
10. Tasks

Importing contacts

People and companies have to be imported separately. If you wish to import several people or companies, the information about each contact has to be entered on a separate row of the file. 

Importing products and services

In addition to importing new products and services into the Scoro product database, the existing ones can also be changed by additional importing. When the import file is uploaded, activate the checkbox Update already existing items and choose whether to match them by Scoro ID, product code, and/or product name.

Importing projects

Project import will include only the basic information about the project (name, deadline, duration, etc). All financial details should be imported with other items (quotes, invoices, bills, POs). Also, the actual time spent on a project should be imported separately with the task import. 

Deleting imports

All the imports made are displayed here and can also be deleted from here. Imports older than 14 days cannot be deleted and, if needed, the imported data can be deleted manually.

Note! On all import pages, there's an option to Save matched column headers as default. If the checkbox is ticked and the “Import” button is clicked, the column header names in the import file are saved, so the next time you import a similar file, the system will match the values automatically.

If you update any of the items via import and delete the import afterward, the updated information isn't reverted. 

If you import new items into the system and delete the import afterward without data modifications, the system will delete the data completely.